1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a safety binding for a ski constituted by two principal portions, namely, a longitudinal slide affixed to the upper surface of the ski and a body which is movably mounted longitudinally on the slide and which can be immobilized on the slide in one of a number of different longitudinal positions.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Various ski bindings are known, both front bindings for securing the front of the shoe or boot and rear bindings for securing the rear of the shoe or boot, which provide for longitudinal adjustment of the body of the binding to adapt the binding to the particular length of the shoe or boot to be mounted on the ski, as well as to adjust the intensity of the force which is exerted against that shoe or boot between the front and rear bindings. In such safety bindings, a slide is typically provided which is affixed to the ski and which has, over at least a portion of its length, a track constituted by a succession of notches longitudinally spaced from one another which respectively determine the different longitudinal positions that the body of the binding can occupy on the slide.
A latch cooperates with the notches, the latch being movably mounted on the lower portion of the body of the binding which constitutes a base in contact with the slide and which slides thereon. The latch carries at least one projection, or tooth, positioned in a manner so as to be able to be displaced in the longitudinal direction while facing the succession of notches of the track when one slides the body longitudinally on the slide. The latch is elastically fixed to a spring in a manner such that a projection thereof is constantly biased in the direction of the slide, and such that it can be engaged in one of the notches so as to immobilize the body of the binding in the desired longitudinal position on the slide.
Furthermore, the latch is provided with an element to move it against the biasing action of its return spring when one desires to disengage the projection of the latch from the notch in which it is located so as to adjust the longitudinal position of the body of the binding. Such a safety binding is described, for example, in French Patent Application No. 2,454,822.
The slide of the safety binding can accompany the body of the above-described binding during its manufacture and its assembly and, in this case, the initial operation required for the mounting of the binding on the ski includes affixing the slide to the ski by means of screws. Alternatively, however, the ski itself can be provided with the slide affixed in position in which case only the body of the binding must be mounted on the slide. In either case, it is necessary to adjust the body of the binding in the appropriate longitudinal position on the slide, which operation requires that, during the sliding movement, the latch must remain raised such that its projection can pass without interference over the notches provided in the slide, which constitutes the adjustment the track. Consequently, this requires (1) that the assembler grips, with one of his or her hands, the body of the binding which is engaged on the slide to make it slide longitudinally and (2) with the other hand, that the latch is raised with an appropriate tool during the entire sliding movement of the body on the slide. This operation tends to be inconvenient for mounting the binding and, furthermore, the final longitudinal positioning of the body of the binding does not occur automatically.
Other bindings of this general type, which are improvements over the binding disclosed in the aforementioned French application, are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 07/394,721, which was filed on Aug. 16, 1989, and which is commonly assigned herewith. The disclosure of the aforemention U.S. application is hereby incorporated by reference with respect to the arrangement and operation of the various parts of the disclosed bindings, as well as with respect to the discussions of the problems associated with known bindings and the need for solutions therefor.